April 16, 2010handmade leather chuckvia Opening Ceremony. $600.00.Q: Whilst in search of a new pair of bastardly-casual sneaks, I ran across this new take on a proven classic. Although these Chucks satisfy the principle of natural materials, are they worth the $600 premium?-Nate

A: Nate, creating a handmade, deluxe version of the Chuck Taylor is sort of like going to Las Vegas and spending all your time there in church. It can be done, but why would you do it? The very appeal of the Chuck Taylor derives from its utilitarian, machine-made ... ah, fuck it. Those $600 Opening Ceremony Chuck Taylors are drop-dead gorgeous! And just as we're sure Jesse James derives more pleasure from Sandra Bullock than he does from a club's worth of bargain-bin strippers ... okay, maybe this isn't the best analogy. Still, hand-stitched Chuck Taylors by an Italian-trained designer (Ryusaku Hiruma) in limited editions of 64? Of course you're going to enjoy them more than a dozen pairs of $50 sneakers.